The effects of these job losses will hit local economies hard,
according to Mark Cohen, the director of retail studies at
Columbia Business School.

Ad

"This is creating a slow-rolling crisis," Cohen told Business
Insider. "The people that work in retail stores will lose their
jobs, then spend less money in retail stores because they are no
longer employed. That creates a a cascade of economic
challenges."

Since October, 89,000 workers in general merchandise stores have
lost their jobs, which is more than the number of people employed
in the entire US coal industry, reports
The New York Times.

During his campaign for the White House, President Trump used
coal miners as an example of workers who never recovered from the
recession, as the Times pointed out.

Ad

Like coal miners, retail workers don't typically have a set of
skills that's easily transferable to another industry, according
to Cohen.

The retail industry, which employs one out of every 10 American
workers, typically pays low wages but provides employment to
people in every age bracket, including those who are low-skilled
and need flexible scheduling options.

So when these workers lose their jobs, they can have a hard time
finding other employment.

"The coal miners are out of luck," Cohen sad. "Retail workers are
in the same boat."

The growing popularity of ecommerce is one reason why retailers
are closing so many stores.

But the ecommerce industry won't come to the rescue of
out-of-work retail employees.

Most warehouses are regional and typically located far from
residential areas, which means they aren't within a reasonable
commutable distance to displaced workers. By contrast, retail
stores are typically located close to residential communities.

Ecommerce warehouses also employ people on a much more limited
scale than retail stores, since they are becoming increasingly
automated, Cohen said.

Unfortunately for retail workers, this crisis doesn't appear to
be dissipating any time soon.

"Brick-and-mortar closings will continue to expand throughout the
year," Cohen said. "There is no reason why they would abate."